Lebard Stadium

A panel of Los Angeles City Council members has shown considerable interest in "fast-tracking" a study on building a downtown football stadium next to Staples Center and L.A. Live. The proposed $1-billion stadium, — complete with retractable roof to protect fans from Southern California's notorious autumnal nor'easters — would seat 64,000. I don't mean to splash cold water on the panel's self-congratulatory high-fives and backslaps, but, for us Newport-Mesans, this stadium brouhaha is so yesterday.

A renovation of Orange Coast College's 50-year-old LeBard Stadium recently began on the Pirates' campus. The stadium, which has hosted more than 750 high school and college football games over the past 50 seasons, plus numerous community college bowl games, CIF playoff games, soccer matches, band competitions, Fourth of July fireworks shows, Easter sunrise services and a variety of concerts, is a community asset....

Orange Coast College will host the Custom Classic Car Show Sunday, May 7, to raise funds for the school's orchestra and chorale. The show is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the athletic field adjacent to the school's LeBard Stadium. Admission is $5. For information, call (714) 432-5707. The truck above belongs to OCC staff members Anthony and Doreen Trejo.dpt.02-bestbet-CPhotoInfo4S1QH1V120060502iym2wnnc(LA)Orange Coast College will host the Custom Classic Car Show Sunday, May 7, to raise funds for the school's orchestra and chorale.

Crews were meticulously working on the new synthetic turf inside LeBard Stadium Tuesday, four days from deadline. The host Orange Coast College and Saddleback football teams are scheduled to inaugurate the renovated field when the squads clash at 5 p.m. Saturday, nearly four months since crews began the remodeling. Workers and machines dotted the synthetic surface Tuesday, which contains an outline of the field along with yard lines and numbers. The next steps will be adding a logo at midfield and covering the field with a rubber-sand mixture, OCC sports information director Eric Montgomery said.

Despite our proclamations in an editorial in Thursday's Pilot ("Fourth of July won't be without its fanfare"), there will not be a fireworks display at Orange Coast College's LeBard Stadium on Independence Day. That display ended nearly a decade ago, we just learned. We apologize for any misunderstanding or inconvenience our misinformation may have caused. Further, we pledge to keep up on all the important goings on in Newport-Mesa from now on, such as a shopping center to be built north of the San Diego Freeway -- it may be named South Coast Plaza -- and the development of an area south of Newport Beach, set to be called Newport Coast.

Bryce Alderton Sixth in a series LeBard Stadium will move one step closer to completion of a massive reconstruction project when crews begin laying down the much-anticipated synthetic grass, or FieldTurf, at Orange Coast College Monday. OCC Athletic Director Barbara Bond said the renovation to the venerable 49-year-old stadium, one of a handful of projects in a campus-wide refurbishment, is nearing completion, but some tasks remain before the first high school and community college teams do battle.

COSTA MESA - The Ultimate Soccer League will kick off its inaugural season June 22 at Orange Coast College's LeBard Stadium. The USL features 130 high-level collegiate athletes representing 34 NCAA Division I and II schools from across the country, including members of the U.S. National Team. There will be a two-hour celebration before each contest where fans can test their athletic skills, watch demonstrations, shop for sports apparel, get autographs and learn about a variety of sports.

The top-ranked University of Alabama and Texas football teams have been practicing in the area this week for Thursday’s Bowl Championship Series title game at the Rose Bowl. While the Longhorns practiced at UC Irvine, the Crimson Tide squad has been using Orange Coast College’s locker room, weight room, training facility and cardio-lab. It’s practicing across the street on the natural turf of the Farm Sports Complex in anticipation of the Rose Bowl’s natural surface.

CIF football title game plans unresolved (runs with Monday QBs)The day and site of the CIF Southern Section Division VI championship football game between Newport Harbor High and Valencia have yet to be determined, Newport Harbor Boys Athletic Director Eric Tweit said Sunday. The game had been scheduled for Friday, but could be moved to Saturday, depending on the availability of Orange Coast College's LeBard Stadium. Tweit said Tesoro, which will play Northwood in the CIF Division IX title game, is also attempting to play at OCC Friday night.

As coach of the Corona del Mar High boys' lacrosse program, G.W. Mix doesn't get to see his two sons play in college often. He's too busy coaching, while Ryan Mix and Casey Mix are away competing. Ryan plays for the University of Notre Dame and Casey for UC Santa Barbara. Mix's boys are coming home this week and he will get to see them play in person. Dad came up with a great idea: create a college lacrosse exhibition in Orange County and invite the teams his sons play on. The event, which looks to promote lacrosse in California, took several years to pull off. The schedules worked out for all parties involved.

A panel of Los Angeles City Council members has shown considerable interest in "fast-tracking" a study on building a downtown football stadium next to Staples Center and L.A. Live. The proposed $1-billion stadium, — complete with retractable roof to protect fans from Southern California's notorious autumnal nor'easters — would seat 64,000. I don't mean to splash cold water on the panel's self-congratulatory high-fives and backslaps, but, for us Newport-Mesans, this stadium brouhaha is so yesterday.

The top-ranked University of Alabama and Texas football teams have been practicing in the area this week for Thursday’s Bowl Championship Series title game at the Rose Bowl. While the Longhorns practiced at UC Irvine, the Crimson Tide squad has been using Orange Coast College’s locker room, weight room, training facility and cardio-lab. It’s practicing across the street on the natural turf of the Farm Sports Complex in anticipation of the Rose Bowl’s natural surface.

Former Mayor Norma Hertzog-Wagner returned to Costa Mesa, her old hometown, in May after 17 years away. Then, Friday, she got to be part of history. Hertzog-Wagner, who served two terms during the 1970s and 1980s, was among the speakers and walkers in the city's first Relay for Life at Orange Coast College on Friday. The American Cancer Society has sponsored the fundraising walks since 1985, but until Friday, Costa Mesa had never hosted one within its boundaries. For that matter, Hertzog-Wagner, a breast cancer survivor, had never walked in a relay before.

After being the only child in the Coast Community College District for 18 years, Orange Coast College, in Costa Mesa, got a little brother in 1965 with the inception of Golden West College, in Huntington Beach. The intertwining history between the two neighboring schools began the next year when the Pirates and Rustlers faced off on the gridiron for the first time. "It was a natural rivalry right from the start," former longtime OCC football coach Dick Tucker said. "That was a game we always wanted to win no matter what."

Orange Coast College will host the Custom Classic Car Show Sunday, May 7, to raise funds for the school's orchestra and chorale. The show is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the athletic field adjacent to the school's LeBard Stadium. Admission is $5. For information, call (714) 432-5707. The truck above belongs to OCC staff members Anthony and Doreen Trejo.dpt.02-bestbet-CPhotoInfo4S1QH1V120060502iym2wnnc(LA)Orange Coast College will host the Custom Classic Car Show Sunday, May 7, to raise funds for the school's orchestra and chorale.

CIF football title game plans unresolved (runs with Monday QBs)The day and site of the CIF Southern Section Division VI championship football game between Newport Harbor High and Valencia have yet to be determined, Newport Harbor Boys Athletic Director Eric Tweit said Sunday. The game had been scheduled for Friday, but could be moved to Saturday, depending on the availability of Orange Coast College's LeBard Stadium. Tweit said Tesoro, which will play Northwood in the CIF Division IX title game, is also attempting to play at OCC Friday night.

sports briefs packageThe Orange Coast College men's and women's soccer teams will open the Southern California Regional playoffs today. The OCC men (13-6-5) are the No. 6 seed and play host to No. 11-seeded East Los Angeles (9-7-8) at 7 p.m. at LeBard Stadium. The OCC women (11-6-4) are the No. 11 seed and visit No. 6-seeded Cerritos (19-3-2) at 2 p.m. Three 'Eaters first team UC Irvine men's soccer players Brad Evans, Anthony Hamilton and Cameron Dunn were named to the All-Big West Conference first team.

Elia Powers Yvonne Zaidler and Amanda Charlesworth met on the first day of high school. They have been self-proclaimed best friends for four years, sharing laughs and the distinction of making honor roll each semester. Thursday, the Estancia High School seniors joined more than 225 of their classmates at the graduation ceremony at Orange Coast College's LeBard Stadium. Zaidler and Charlesworth embraced moments after ceremoniously moving their tassels from one side of their caps to the other.

Barry Faulkner The Orange Coast College football team hopes the spanking new synthetic playing surface won't be the only thing novel about tonight's Mission Conference clash with visiting Saddleback. The Pirates, in fact, are hoping for a fresh start to a season that has opened with a pair of defeats to extend the program's losing streak to six. "I believed we needed to be 2-0 heading into conference and instead we're 0-2," OCC Coach Mike Taylor said.